Rain needed in Beauregard Parish to feed water supply

Over the last few days, rain has been prevalent in Calcasieu Parish but in Beauregard Parish and Vernon Parish, it is a completely different story. Here's why that is important: Beauregard and Vernon are the recharging areas for the Chicot Aquifer (underground water supply). And that aquifer is where we, in the five Parishes, have our main water supply. Rain falls in those northern Parishes and that water seeps down in the Chicot Aquifer to recharge and replenish.

DeRidder's Public Works Director, Allen Shellenbarger says, "If the rain doesn't come as we need it, the recharging rate will be slowed down and in the future we could experience problems".

Beauregard Parish pulls about 12.25 million gallons of water daily from the Chicot Aquifer. About 35,000 people live in the Parish with about half the population living in the rural areas. Those rural areas are seeing an issue with drought when it comes to grass for cattle and fish for the stock ponds.

Another issue for rural areas comes in the form of safety - dry hydrants. Dry hydrants are set up just outside of a pond. There is a pipe that runs from the dry hydrant into a nearby pond. Fire trucks would connect their hose to the dry hydrant and use the water pumped out of the pond. But if the pond is dry, that presents a problem for property. Parish Manager for Beauregard Parish Police Jury, Elton Pickering says, "If we had a fire now, I don't think you could hardly get some water out of the pond to help. So we would have to depend on regular hydrants from the water district."

As of now, there are no water restrictions planned for the residents of Beauregard Parish.

At least 1,124 residents are without power from Pujol Road all the way to Moeling Street near La. 171 according to the Entergy Map. According to Entergy, a serviceman is working to determine the cause of the outage. Power will be restored as soon as possible. Entergy estimates power will be restored by 2:30 p.m. Traffic lights may be affected. Copyright 2018 KPLC. All rights reserved. More >>

At least 1,124 residents are without power from Pujol Road all the way to Moeling Street near La. 171 according to the Entergy Map. According to Entergy, a serviceman is working to determine the cause of the outage. Power will be restored as soon as possible. Entergy estimates power will be restored by 2:30 p.m. Traffic lights may be affected. Copyright 2018 KPLC. All rights reserved. More >>

KATC is reporting that one is dead in a forklift accident at a Proctor & Gamble plant in Pineville. The investigation is still in its early stages, but a Proctor & Gamble spokesperson provided the following statement to KATC. "We are deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the P&G Product Supply Family passed away at our Alexandria manufacturing facility in a tragic accident during the early morning hours of May 24, 2018. The safety of our employees is a...

KATC is reporting that one is dead in a forklift accident at a Proctor & Gamble plant in Pineville. The investigation is still in its early stages, but a Proctor & Gamble spokesperson provided the following statement to KATC. "We are deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the P&G Product Supply Family passed away at our Alexandria manufacturing facility in a tragic accident during the early morning hours of May 24, 2018. The safety of our employees is a...

Johnnie Hardman has been found guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery with a firearm, and two counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery for the July 2017 murder of Joshua Touchet. The verdict was reached by the jury after 43 minutes of deliberation. Theresa Schmidt was in the courtroom. To see all of her coverage of the trial, view her Twitter feed below. Tweets by KplcTschmidt

Johnnie Hardman has been found guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery with a firearm, and two counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery for the July 2017 murder of Joshua Touchet. The verdict was reached by the jury after 43 minutes of deliberation. Theresa Schmidt was in the courtroom. To see all of her coverage of the trial, view her Twitter feed below. Tweets by KplcTschmidt

For the rest of the day, there will be more storms and showers that pop up in the afternoon. This is the new normal with the heat during the afternoon, and the extra moisture in the air. The good news for today is that there are a lot more clouds today, and that is keeping the temperature down a few degrees. That should help limit any storms this afternoon. So we will still likely see some develop, but not as many. Tonight, any rain we see should come to an end.

For the rest of the day, there will be more storms and showers that pop up in the afternoon. This is the new normal with the heat during the afternoon, and the extra moisture in the air. The good news for today is that there are a lot more clouds today, and that is keeping the temperature down a few degrees. That should help limit any storms this afternoon. So we will still likely see some develop, but not as many. Tonight, any rain we see should come to an end.